Review: Epic Word Collection 2 (3DS eShop)

Review: Epic Word Collection 2 (3DS eShop)

The gameplay of Epic Word Search Collection 2 is aptly described by its title. It’s a sequel, a collection of word search puzzles, and it’s epic – as in very, very large. And it delivers on those promising words.

The premise is therefore a relatively simple one – there are five puzzles, each containing over 1500 words. That’s a lot of words to find – go ahead, do the math. OK fine, it’s 7500 words.

Each puzzle is themed to make things more interesting, with America, animals, journeys, ancient history and Shakespeare themes. But the real brilliance of this title is the way it works – how can you fit 1500 words into a puzzle on even a 3DS XL screen?

The answer: each puzzle is scrollable. The whole puzzle is absolutely huge, but neatly divided into sections that are color-coded to help define a discrete set of words, all within the same theme. For example, in the America category, the first grid is related to US presidents, with the next square dedicated to American states.

As you scroll through the sections of sub-categories, the words dynamically update on the top screen so you know what’s visible in your current view, and they disappear once you find and highlight them. The disappearance of words – rather than crossing out – makes it much cleaner to see what’s left to find, though if you’re fan of ticking or crossing things off your list, you will be slightly disappointed.

One point to note about scrolling is the bizarre default setting whereby pressing up on your D-pad or control stick scrolls you down, and left equals right, etc. It’s not intuitive, but thankfully there is a setting that flips the controls for a more natural press-down-to-go-down movement – so just be sure to change that setting before you play.

The choice of music is very much a deliberate one, though won’t be to everyone’s tastes, with classical piano tunes throughout your experience. It’s actually quite soothing though, and serves as a nice background without being distracting. It’s also impressively long, with various songs playing in continuity, which both adds to the relaxing style of gameplay and inspires longer sessions with less repetitiveness in the music.

Essentially, this is a word search game, so if you enjoy looking for words that are hidden forwards, backwards, upside down, or diagonally among hundreds of other letters, then this is probably a game you will enjoy. With thousands upon thousands of words to find, and giant-sized puzzles themed into interesting chunks, this is one game that will keep you busy for a very long time.

7.5 out of 10

Review: Epic Word Collection 2 (3DS eShop)

7.5

Word!

It delivers what it promises, with enormous grids of letters hiding thousands upon thousands of words. It’s well done, though, and is recommended for anyone who enjoys the hunt.

I love all things Nintendo! It's my Dad's fault really, since he bought my sister and I the NES many Christmases ago. It was the beginning of a love affair, but who could blame me? There was no better introduction to video games than Mario and Zelda! I'm a proud owner of a 3DS (Fire Emblem-branded, thank you), a Wii U (which, incidentally, also doubles as my TV remote), and the Switch (day one, naturally). I'm a writer and a web developer, so I love writing reviews and take design elements very seriously. My all-time favorite game is Super Mario World for the SNES, though I'm also partial to any of the Mario Kart entries.